Imovie 11 backup help

Question

i'm really confused about how to properly back up an imovie. I do have time machine however i would like to create a permanent backup of a project on an external drive and can't figure out the proper way to do it. thanks!
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Answer 1

First requirement is an external hard drive. So your Time Machine hard drive will probably work. Always remember, make sure your external hard drive is formatted as a Mac OS Extended. If you don't know what format it is, go to your Mac's Desktop. Hold down the CTRL Key and click on the Hard drive icon. Choose > Get Info:
If it isn't already formatted that way you will want to erase the hard drive using Disk Utility which is in the Applications > Utilities folder on your Macintosh's hard drive. Once Disk Utility is open, click on the icon for your External Hard Drive. Click the Erase tab at the top, and there's a pull-down menu titled Format: Click that pulldown menu and choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled), then click the Erase... button:
After the hard drive has been reformatted, go back to iMovie to View Menu > Group Events by Disk:
You should see your external hard drive in the Events Library. It will allow you to drag any Event onto that icon. Just Move the Events to the External Harddrive. Also, the hard drive will also appear in the list at the top, in the Project Library too. If you want to copy a Project to the hard drive, drag it from where it is now in the Project Library to the external hard drive icon. A dialog box will appear:
You will want to copy the project and the Events to the hard drive. Once they are safely copied over, test them to make sure the open properly and you can see the video, and everything plays. Then you can delete the original project from your iMovie Project Library. If all you want to do is just move it all at once instead of first copying and then deleting, drag while holding down the ⌘-Command key, which will bring up this dialog instead:
*Note: When you move the Projects/Events, they will be deleted from the original location when copied to the new location. But the projects will all work properly as all the Event clips used will be in the same spot. And it should all 'just work'
Keeping the Projects/Events you have finished on the external hard drive together in the same location will keep everything working properly. No lost clips or missing sound. Moving a Project might be a good last step at the end when it's finished. That way you can archive a Project with all the Events used inside the project.